Iran’s Deals with European Planemakers to Take Longer to Complete: Airbus

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran would finally take delivery of dozens of European jets it has ordered following the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, John Leahy, Airbus Sales Chief, said, noting that the process could take longer to complete than planned.

“I think those deals will get fulfilled, maybe not on the original schedule,” Leahy told Reuters in an interview, referring to the company’s agreement to sell 100 planes to Iran Air.

“We have to arrange financing; they have to understand about making pre-delivery payments,” he added.

Leahy further indicated Airbus would be cautious about building jets for Iran without receiving deposit payments.

“You have got to make pre-delivery payments where aircraft get into production, so we are doing it on perhaps a lower basis than we thought, but we still believe that it will work out,” he said.

European planemaker Airbus and its US rival Boeing have agreed to sell a combined total of 180 jets to renew the aging fleet of state carrier Iran Air after anti-Tehran sanctions were removed in the wake of the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

So far, Iran Air has taken delivery of three Airbus jets and a handful of turboprops built by its Franco-Italian affiliate ATR.

Bankers say further business with Iran has been held up by the reluctance of Western financial institutions to deal with Tehran because of concerns that the nuclear deal could unravel or that they could fall foul of ongoing US financial controls.

In October, US President Donald Trump said he would not certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement that was negotiated under the previous administration because it was “in violation of the spirit” of the accord.

The Trump administration asked Congress then to come up with a solution and pass a companion agreement that addresses those issues.

It said it would also like Congress to amend the legislation that gives lawmakers the authority to slap sanctions on Iran if it decides Tehran is in violation of the nuclear agreement, outlining “trigger points” instead that set off automatic sanctions.

Trump said he wants Congress to fix “the deal’s many flaws” such as existing sunset provisions.